Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Let Us Go At Once

The inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, “Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.”

—Zechariah 8:21

Has anyone ever called you on the phone and, as you answered, you heard that one say, “Please! Come quickly!”? Those kinds of calls strike terror into the hearts of parents and dear friends. Someone is in trouble and needs help.

That sense of urgency prevailed at the time of the Prophet Zechariah. He was concerned about the spiritual condition of the people.

God had given Zechariah a very strong message. It was a message of repentance. Sin had prevailed in the land. Zechariah was calling the people to turn aside from their sin and return to God.

We call Zechariah’s message a “Call for Revival.” The word “revival” means “a coming to life again.” That which was considered dead is now brought to life again with a fresh and vibrant vitality.

Revival is not a series of special meetings, where a sweat-soaked preacher tells stories of the fiery dreads of hell and urges people to come to the front of the church and become saved. No, revival is a sweeping movement of the Holy Spirit that ignites a spiritual fire within the hearts of the people that causes them to spontaneously seek God in a new and fresh way.

In our land today, we desperately need a revival. We need to experience that sweeping movement of the Holy Spirit calling people back to God and away from the sin that has so clouded our judgment and cursed our nation.

We need modern Zechariahs who will issue the same kind of call that the Prophet gave all those many years ago. We need to heed his words today, as found in Zechariah 8:21:

The inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, “Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.”

As we begin a new day, let’s not be afraid to say to one another, “Let’s go at once! I myself am going! I am going to pray that God will send a revival. I urge you to join me in that prayer.” Yes, let’s do just that.

Followers

About Me

Retired from full-time employment since 2003, Dean was raised in Bradford, PA, where he and his family were active members of the Hill Memorial Evangelical United Brethren Church.

Dean graduated from Houghton College (NY) in 1968 with a BA degree in Writing and Psychology.

Before retiring, he spent 38 years working as a fire protection engineer, educator, director of training, and business consultant in the insurance and consulting industries. Dean holds registration as a licensed Professional Fire Protection Engineer (CT), has been elected a Fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, and has received the Standards Medal from the National Fire Protection Association.

Dean has written over 370 magazine articles and book chapters for technical and business publications. He has written over 1,100 blog posts. Dean is also a nationally known conference speaker and seminar leader on various fire protection, adult learning, and communications issues.

In July of 1968, Dean married the former Shirley Willink, who remains his most faithful and best friend.